DXnext: YC

The "Racks" star explains how he was once a Gorilla Zoe protege and who's hopefully going to be on his album, from Drumma Boy to Game.

In the rap business, there’s nothing more respected than an artist who is a self-starter. Atlanta/Decatur emcee YC can attest to this notion, as the one-time member of Da Block Boyz split from the group with aspirations of gaining notoriety as a solo act. Now, with one of the biggest records of 2011 in “Racks,” it’s clear that the 26-year-old has captured our ears as well as his peers, as evidenced by the mega-remix that features anyone and everyone in Hip Hop. Along with the hit single, YC recently released the Got Racks mixtape to satisfy fans while he works on his still-untitled debut album.

In a recent interview with HipHopDX, YC talked about his early beginnings, what projects he has planned for 2011, and also gives some advice to listeners who may not understand his lane.

Breaking In: “I started out with Gorilla Zoe and Block Entertainment. We were doing a group, Da Block Boyz. We did the “Just Joog” song, it was picking up and what not. But when the group didn’t go through, it fell apart from that. So I ventured off and went solo. That’s when I started with Big Play Entertainment and 3022 Entertainment. And now I’m Big Play/3022/Universal Republic. Zoe’s still been supporting me and helping me any way that he possibly can. It’s still love.”

Pressure Of Topping “Racks”?: “It really ain’t no pressure, I’m just gonna do me. If there’s two million people out there that like ‘Racks’ and there’s a million people out there that like YC, then I can’t fail that way. With the music, they’re buying me too. In music, people get it twisted. You’re an entertainer; you got to entertain people.”

On Got Racks Mixtape: “A lot of the songs on that mixtape are two to three years old. That was stuff I already had. So instead of letting it go to waste I figured I would just go ahead and put it out.”

On Financial Aid Mixtape: “I’ll be talking about how life is just in general. You know, I ain’t forgot where I came from ‘cause I ain’t like that. What goes up comes down. So just in general, the day to day living. I’m still doing the same stuff everyone else doing, I’m just on the road. I still got the same problems everybody else got.”

Production For Financial Aid: “You’ll be hearing more from [‘Racks’ producer] Sonny Digital. You’ll also be hearing some from a lot of unknown producers. And I got my own YC production group started. So I got producers on that like 2Hot, he made the ‘I Know’ beat. I also deal with Brick Squad a lot, so I’ve been doing stuff with SouthSide and Lex Luger just sent me some beats. So you know, I’ve really been working. For me to rap on a beat, the beat got to do something. It got to move you before you even say anything on it.”

On The Debut Album: “We gonna shoot for the fall; I’d say around October. I’ve worked with Jim Jonsin, Cool & Dre and J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League. I got to work with Drumma Boy too. I’ve been working with a lot of people, I got the tracks but I don’t know what we’re actually gonna use so I won’t mention it.”

“On the feature side, I haven’t done too many yet because I want to stand on my on for a minute. But I got a record with Waka Flocka Flame, I got one I’m doing with The Game. I just work with anybody that wanna work, I don’t discriminate from a local person to a big artist.”

Musical Advisory: “I advise people, if you listen for lyrics, go buy somebody else’s album. If you’re listening for something you can relate to, to just have a good time and just sit and vibe to it, then buy my music. But if you want lyrical stuff, don’t go buy it because I don’t want you to be disappointed. It ain’t no hard feelings, I’m just telling you what I’m doing.”